Can Unmarried Non-Citizen Mom File for Child's Passport Without U.S. Father's Consent

no, no papers but ive been looking into it for a bit now. Im sortof scared i'd get in above my head. I ask the same questions to my buddies at work who have similar situations and they only offer me limited advice. Navy lawyers don't seem to want to get too into it. DCSE sure don't want to help. I know my wifes income doesn't count but it does consider into a financial hardship. I have to pay 700 bucks a month to a child I never seen, where the money is converted to three times the amount, she goes on vacations, has her own beach house, relishes in cruises with her girlfriends, I mean C'mon. I paid a lawyer already just to giver her paperwork to lower child support so I can come down and see him but she blackmailed me and said shes not going to sign unless I sign the citizenship paperwork. That was a grand lost. I talked to the american embassy down in peru and they don't offer me much. But They were the ones who told me that she can't get the citizenship without my endorsement. I read these online forums from others but I don't think Im getting anywhere. She can't come to the USA and even if I did give the child citizenship, she told me once that they will fly to disney land and if I wanted to see my son, I would have to fly out there and see him. Im going to lose the only child I will ever have. Ive been battling with her for 4 years now. The child doesn't even know english words. No painted pictures from school, no daddy letters, no anything. I don't know who he is and he doesn't know who I am. What kind of support is that?
My review for Child support came up and I started thinking about it. What happens when I lose my job. I heard of other guys losing their jobs to the economy, then their houses, then got hauled off to jail because they couldn't pay their child support all the while their current family suffers. My wifes job status will be a problem.
can I do anything? I thougth about first, claiming another dependant-my wife, then asking for proper documentation to her B.S (sorry) and maybe feeling like it was fair even if it came out to the same amount. would another dependant be a consideration for the amount? Then maybe take a loan or something and go to peru to the embassy and file for joint custody or something. This would work right?
So, is there a way she can aquire the citizenship without my endorsement? even if the embassy says she can't? I think theres a non-immigrant visa I was reading on the immigration website that he can travel with. She can bring him to the USA and file here can't she?

I really appreciate your help. and anything else you can tell me would be greatly appreciated.

Dad, I'm going to be really honest ok?

You're not going to get joint custody - even if they both lived in the US. You've been absent for 4 years; the very best you would get would be an enforceable visitation order. Eventually you might get joint legal custody. But if she remains in Peru, you're again going to have to go by local laws regarding custody and visitation - the US has no jurisdiction whatsoever.

This is from one of the many immigration legal sites out there:

Quote:

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Children born out of wedlock to a US citizen father will acquire US citizenship if the following conditions are met:

There is an established blood relationship between the father and the child,
The father was a US citizen at the time of the birth,
The father has agreed to financially support the child until it is 18, and
Before the child is 18 it is legitimated, or the father acknowledges paternity in a document signed under oath

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You appear to meet all four criteria. Hence, your child is entitled to claim US citizenship.

With regards to child support, no - your wife's situation doesn't change anything. She is not a dependent as far as child support calculations go. What you can do is plug the numbers into your State's calculator and see what it spits out.

And with regards to Mom's status - well, that's up in the air. What does SHE want to do? Move here?

No, she doesnt want to live here. But she doesnt mind visiting. Shes to be getting married but i dont know if that happened. She seems to be wealthy there in peru and i believe my son has everything he needs and more. Im happy for that. Im stuck huh? I cant afford to go to peru and even if that could happen, trying to gain any legal status with my son is highly unlikely. If she wanted citizenship, she can find a way of getting it, so any leverage i have to negotiate for a relationship is meaningless. Wow. What do i do now?

You are more likely to have a relationship with your child if you assist his mother in obtaining the passport. She cannot gain US citizenship via the child until the child is 21 and can petition for her. She should have difficulty renewing her visitor visa since she now has a US citizen minor child which implies a high probability of her having immigrant intent.

You are unlikely to have the funds required to pursue international legal action. Even parents who have been married to (and have current custody and visitation orders with) foreign nationals who have removed children from the jurisdiction of US courts report major problems with custody and visitation. They should be concerned even if they do not have any international relocation issues at this time.

Face it, you used poor judgement in becoming involved with her; this issue is not a high priority in international relations with all else that is going on. If your congressman or you can find another who will champion the cause, go for it. I am sympathetic since this is (and has been previously) a potential issue in my own family. I am a realist; if the inlaw removes the child from the US to Peru, there is realistically nothing that can be done to force the child to be returned due to the costs of a legal battle. The money is better used to support the child wherever he is.

thank you for your advice. I really appreciate it and I wish the best for you and yours.

one more question, the IRS states for the sake of filing taxes on a child that whosoever has the child for more than half the year chall file. But in this case can I file even if he doesnt live with me. Because after all, that rule was established to prevent both parents from filing right?

Nope - that would be an outright lie and you don't want to lie to the IRS.

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p504...link1000175898
or
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p504.pdf

Exemptions
There are two types of exemptions you may be able to take:
Personal exemptions for yourself and your spouse, and
Exemptions for dependents (dependency exemptions).

Exemptions for Dependents
You are allowed one exemption for each person you can claim as a dependent. You can claim an exemption for a dependent even if your dependent files a return.

The term “dependent” means:
A qualifying child, or
A qualifying relative.

You can claim an exemption for a qualifying child or qualifying relative only if these three tests are met.
Dependent taxpayer test.
Joint return test.
Citizen or resident test.

Child tax credit. You may be entitled to a child tax credit for each qualifying child who was under age 17 at the end of the year if you claimed an exemption for that child. For more information, see chapter 34.

The child tax credit is a credit that may reduce your tax by as much as $1,000 for each of your qualifying children.

The additional child tax credit is a credit you may be able to take if you are not able to claim the full amount of the child tax credit

Can you ellaborate on this? I seem to be a little lost.

You don't have a qualifying child - that's the bottom line, unfortunately.